In-play betting has undoubtedly become increasingly popular in the digital age, with some estimates suggesting that 45% of all UK punters now wager live.
In-play or live bets can be placed anytime after a sporting event has started and prior to its conclusion, while this vertical unlocks a huge selection of markets and so-called “micro betting” lines.
But how exactly does in-play betting work, and which markets are the most popular among bettors? We’ll explore the answers to these questions in detail in the guide below!
Please note – This betting guide is intended for educational purposes only. Live and in-play betting is inherently risky and does not guarantee a financial return. Remember to wager responsibly and only engage in live betting if you understand the practice and available markets.
What is In-Play Betting?
Unlike pre-game and ante post back betting, in-play wagering enables you to place bets during sporting events and matches. This creates a larger and competitively priced range of betting markets, each of which pertain to in-game events and specific performance metrics.
In-play betting is particularly popular when wagering on football, especially Premier League and EFL games. These matches are home to a number of dynamically priced markets, including the next goalscorer and the identity of the next player to enter the referee’s notebook.
In-play betting is completely legal in regulated markets, while the sheer range of live markets available enables you to pursue incremental profits. We’ll explore the most profitable live betting strategies a little later in the piece.
How Does In-Play Betting Work?
One of the challenges posed by in-play betting is that live odds are constantly fluctuating in line with in-game events. This is why watching matches and events is highly recommended, as it enables you to successfully gauge any shifts in momentum and time your bets well.
Sportsbooks leverage live data to inform their in-play odds, including the score, stage of the game and recent events. For example, while Hull City would most likely start an away match at Blackburn as betting underdogs, an early goal for the Tigers would see their moneyline odds shorten significantly.
Of course, if Hull were to maintain or increase their lead as the match progressed, their odds would shorten further. However, an equaliser for Blackburn or a red card for the Tigers would turn the odds back in Rovers’ favour.
Understanding these dynamics is key when placing in-play bets. It’s also important to develop a viable live wagering process, so that you can quickly identify the best value bets and markets.
- Choose a Match or Event: You’ll first need to select a particular match and event. High profile Championship matches are recommended as they unlock a large range of markets, while games that are likely to see an early goal may also introduce more favourable odds.
- Place Your Bets: Once the game has started, watch or stream the action and select your preferred betting markets. These include backing one of the competing teams to score the first goal, or predicting the timeframe in which the deadlock will be broken. Try to time your bets in a way that leverages the best possible odds.
- Track the Odds: As live bets are settled, you may identify additional opportunities to wager in-play. Just remember to track the odds in real-time and keep your eyes peeled for value bets. For example, if a betting favourite falls behind early, you may be able to back them at enhanced odds in the win market.
Key Features of In-Play Betting
To help create further context around the typical in-play betting process, we’re going to take a closer look at its key features. Here are the key components to keep in mind!
Real-Time Odds
Live football betting is characterised by highly dynamic and volatile odds. Not only are prices impacted directly by in-game events such as goals scored and red cards, for example, but the odds will also fluctuate with every minute that passes.
Although this can make in-play betting challenging, it also creates significant value betting opportunities throughout individual matches.
A Wide Range of Betting Markets
As you can place live bets on various in-game events and performance metrics (pertaining to both teams and players), in-play wagering unlocks a huge selection of markets. Some sportsbooks even offer access to hundreds of micro betting lines.
These are focused on events that will occur in the next few moments, such as the team who will the next corner or the outcome of an upcoming drive in an NFL match.
Cash-Out Option
To enhance the in-play betting experience, most sportsbooks offer full or partial cashout options. You can secure early settlements when cashing out during matches, helping you to either maximise returns or minimise losses when a market moves against you.
Betiton offers a particularly flexible range of full and partial cashout options, enabling you to retain control of your live bets at all times.
Best In-Play Betting Sites
Now that you have a greater understanding of in-play betting, the next step is to identify the best live wagering sites. Most of the leading sportsbooks operate a live betting vertical, while they may also live stream selected matches and offer selected in-play odds boosts.
However, our picks as the best in-play sportsbooks combine multiple elements to create an exceptional live betting experience overall. Here’s a summary of the top four in-play betting sites and what sets them apart from their competitors!
Best Live Betting Site: Highbet
Highbet operates a dedicated in-play betting vertical, which is home to all ongoing sporting events and football matches. Here, you can access a huge selection of live betting markets, including more than 480 when wagering on EFL Championship games alone.
Highbet regularly publishes boosted odds on live sporting events too. When constructing in-play wagers, you can also use the bet slips’ intuitive 1-Click Betting feature to act quickly and commit a predetermined stake amount. This is key when placing live combination bets!
Best In-Play Betting Site for Football: Betiton
If you’re going to place live football wagers, Betiton comes highly recommended. You can also access close to 500 betting lines when wagering in-play on EFL Championship matches and similar games, including a particularly large selection of player markets.
As we’ve touched on, Betiton also offers flexible full and partial cashout options to punters. Partial cashouts can be particularly rewarding, as they enable you to collect a portion of your winnings before the conclusion of an event and leave the remainder of the wager in-play!
Best In-Play Betting Cash Out Offer: 10BET
10Bet arguably offers the biggest range of bonuses in the UK market, many of which will appeal to live bettors. For example, if you place a football moneyline bet and your team opens up a two-goal lead, you can cashout in real-time and bank a profit regardless of the final result.
When you navigate the in-play betting vertical at 10Bet, you’ll see exceptional event coverage and a diverse range of live markets. When placing real-time bets on football matches, you can also access virtual fields of play to watch the action as it folds and view recent head-to-head statistics.
The Types of In-Play Bets
We’ve already touched on some of the most popular in-play bets, including moneylines and totals. Below, we’ll delve a little deeper into these markets and how they function.
Moneyline
Whether you wager pre-game or in-play, a moneyline bet requires you to pick the winner or result in a specific match. This is complicated when wagering on football, due to the prevalence of drawn games after 90 minutes. In the 2024/25 campaign so far, some 31% of all EFL Championship matches have ended tied.
Futures
Futures or outright bets are placed on the winner of a particular league or tournament. While such wagers are usually placed before a competition commences, they can also be staked once it has gotten underway. However, live futures markets tend to be less competitively priced, depending on who you pick as the winner!
Spread Betting
Spread betting enables you to back heavy betting favourites at enhanced odds, by affording them a virtual handicap (such as -1.5 goals). They’ll have to beat the spread for your wager to be successful, which in this instance would mean winning by two clear goals or more. Live spread betting prices will fluctuate significantly during the course of a game.
Over/Under totals
Totals betting usually revolves around the number of goals scored in a game. Bookies will set various totals as individual betting lines, and you’ll have to select one before determining whether the actual total will be over or under this threshold. Most pre-game betting takes place around the 2.5 goals line, but you may target higher totals when wagering in-play if an early goal is scored.
Props
Team and player props dominate live sports betting, and are focused on in-game occurrences that typically don’t affect the final result directly. Common examples include picking the identity of the next goalscorer in a football match, or the team that will collect the next yellow card. You can also bet the over/under on how many corners will be won during a match.
Middle Bets
When you place middle bets in-play, you’ll attempt to cover both sides of the same wager using variably priced lines. This opportunity usually occurs when a particular line moves after the initial odds are published, or once a game has commenced and events have started to occur.
Placing this type of bet requires careful analysis of odds, as you’ll need to optimise your chances of making a profit in relation to your stake.
Parlays or Accumulators
This type of wager combines between four and 20 picks in a single wager. The odds of each selection are then multiplied to create an enhanced price, while each of your picks will have to win for the wager to pay out.
Live accumulators enable you to pick multiple winners based on real-time odds, while also exploring markets including moneylines, spreads and totals. With same-game parlays, you can also build live combination bets using markets from a single match.
Advantages of In-Play Betting
There are a number of advantages associated with in-play betting, regardless of your preferred sports and markets. Here’s a summary of the most compelling!
1. Access a Huge Range of Markets
In-play betting introduces a huge selection of markets, especially when compared to pre-game and ante post wagering. This includes a growing number of micro betting lines, which are often settled within minutes during specific matches and events.
2. Leverage Dynamic Odds to Your Advantage
The changeable nature of in-play odds can create opportunities for greater profitability. For example, if struggling Stoke take an early lead against high-flying Sunderland in the Championship, the odds of a win for the Mackems will lengthen. You can subsequently back them at enhanced odds in the win market.
3. Watch and Wager
By watching events as they unfold, you can gauge momentum and make better informed decisions. You may even be able to anticipate specific in-game events before they occur. This also makes it easier to analyse published odds and determine whether an outcome’s implied probability values are accurate.
4. Benefit from Flexible Cashout Options
As we’ve touched on, most sportsbooks offer full or partial cashout options during the course of live betting. This affords you far greater control over your betting activity, while it can help to minimise losses over time. With partial cashouts, you can even bank a percentage of your winnings before the end of a match and leave the remainder in-play!
In-Play Betting Strategies
To fully leverage the advantages of in-play betting, you’ll need to develop one or more wagering strategies. Here are some of the most effective options when targeting live betting markets:
Research Before the Game Starts
While in-play bets are placed after an event starts, it’s still important to conduct the same research and analysis as you would when wagering pre-game.
When it comes to live football betting, this means analysing relevant home and away form data, alongside historic head-to-head results over the course of the previous six games or so. Pay consideration to player form too, especially if you intend to wager on prop markets.
Stay Informed During the Game
When placing live bets during a particular game or event, it’s crucial that you remain informed. This applies to both the events that occur in real-time and any changes in odds, each of which will have a direct bearing on your selections and potential profitability.
This is why it’s crucial that you watch the matches and events that you wager on, while also following the key in-game statistics.
Engage in Disciplined Bankroll Management
Regardless of how you bet online, responsible and disciplined bankroll management is crucial. However, this is arguably most important when wagering on live events, due to the sheer number of betting lines and markets available.
Ultimately, the amount that you bet in-play should never exceed an amount you can afford to lose. We’d also recommend using deposit limits to help manage your bankroll, while this also helps you to avoid emotional betting practices such as chasing losses.
Betting Proactively In-Play
Overall, the most successful live bettors are analytical and proactive in their approach. This means that they actively identify key markets and the optimal time to place bets, based on their understanding and analysis of a particular event.
This type of approach also enables you to maximise the value of full and partial cashouts. This automatically minimises your exposure to risk and loss when betting in-play!
The Most Popular Sports for In-Play Betting
As you can probably tell, football remains the most popular sport from the perspective of in-play betting. But what other disciplines are synonymous with live betting markets? Let’s find out!
- American Football: American football unlocks a huge selection of in-play markets, including staples such as moneylines and spreads. You can also bet on everything from the identity of the next touchdown scorer to the over/under on a particular quarterback’s passing yards.
- Basketball: When wagering on basketball and the NBA, you can access a similarly diverse range of markets. These include quarter and half betting, on everything from winning margins to the total number of points scored. You can also access player props pertaining to points scored, assists and rebounds.
- Rugby: You can access plenty of live betting markets when wagering on both codes of rugby: namely Union and League. Player props are particularly popular here, including the next try scorer in a game and over/under on how many points a player will score during 80 minutes.
- Tennis: When you wager on live tennis matches, you can delve far beyond basic moneylines. For example, you can wager on the outcome of individual games and sets, while also picking which player will score the next point. The over/under on the total number of games played is incredibly popular too, especially with the right analysis and research.
How to Place an In-Play Bet
If you’re ready to place your first in-play bet, here’s a step-by-step guide to get started. This process will remain largely unchanged across most sportsbooks, but we’ve used Highbet Sport to illustrate our example.
- Log in to Your Account: First, visit the sportsbook lobby (https://www.highbet.com/en-gb/sportsbook#/) and navigate to the ‘Log In’ tab in the top-right hand corner of the screen. Then, log into your account.
- Navigate to the In-Play Vertical: Next, navigate your way to the ‘In-Play’ vertical. This will instantly reveal a full list of in-play sporting events and the very latest live odds.
- Choose Your Event and Market: You can select different sports from the horizontal menu running along the top of the in-play lobby. Select your preferred category before honing in on specific events and markets.
- Place and Track Your Bets: Simply click on betting lines to automatically populate your bet slip in the bottom right-hand corner. Remember, you can initiate ‘1-Click Betting’ to execute live wagers in double quick time. Once your bet slip has been constructed, hit ‘Place Bets’ before tracking the wager and any odds changes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in In-Play Betting
While there are a number of mistakes you can make when engaging in live betting, some are more common than others. These include:
- Chasing Losses: The sheer number of live betting markets available can cause you to incur incremental losses over time. You should refrain from chasing such losses and wagering outside of your means.
- Neglecting Bankroll Management: Even if you place a high percentage of winning in-play bets, the excess of available markets may encourage you to wager more than your bankroll allows. This can lead to unsustainable losses over time.
- Betting Without Watching: If you don’t watch the games that you wager on, you run the risk of making ill-informed decisions or missing out on potential value betting opportunities.
FAQs About In-Play Betting
What is In-Play betting?
In-play betting includes all wagers that are placed during a specific match or sporting event. Such markets are characterised by dynamic and changeable odds, while you can access a huge selection of in-play betting lines.
How does In-play betting work?
When exploring a specific event, you can use data analysis and insight to identify the best value markets. Then, track the odds as they continue to fluctuate, in order to wager at the most competitive price.
What does “keep in play” mean when betting?
‘Keep in Play’ is a sportsbook setting which enables you to avoid wagers being cancelled if a particular market is halted at the start of an event. This can cause you to retain at least your stake amount and minimise short-term losses.
How to make money form In-Play betting?
Unfortunately, there’s no surefire way of guaranteeing wins or profitability when betting in-play. However, you can maximise your chances of being profitable by researching markets and making the most informed picks. You can also make use of full and partial cashouts to boost your returns.
What are the best bookmakers for In-play betting?
Our pick as the best in-play betting site is Highbet, Betiton, and 10Bet all offer exceptional coverage of live events and highly competitive odds. However, we’d urge you to compare the leading sportsbooks yourself to ensure that you select the right one for you!